Catapults
Catapult Network Cell and Gene Therapy Connected Places Digital Energy Systems High Value Manufacturing Medicines Discovery Offshore Renewable Energy Satellite Applications
Search

Staying cool: How novel 3D printing technologies are taking the heat off next-gen electronic devices

Date: 16.04.2025

Close-up of GaN 3D-printed geometric structures featuring intricate lattice and spiral designs in various shades. - CSA Catapult

Compound Semiconductor (CSA) Catapult’s state-of-the-art equipment, practical know-how and specialist expertise help businesses design technology that solves industry challenges and accelerates the UK’s journey to Net Zero. 

Close-up of a GaN-enhanced heatsink on a computer motherboard with silver fins and blue components nearby. - CSA Catapult

The challenge: high power, higher heat 

Electronic devices are work horses. They produce lots of heat, which can impact how well they work and how reliable they are. The next–generation of devices will be more power-dense and will create even more heat. To ensure these high-power devices work as intended, they need effective thermal management. 

This is achieved using embedded components that regulate the temperature of the electronics device and, ultimately, optimise its performance, reliability and longevity.  

Specific industries like aerospace and defence will need lightweight, heat-resistant components for the extreme environments in which their applications operate.  

Heat dissipation is also a consideration for batteries and storage applications, as well as patient-specific implants in the biomedical industry. 

And whilst traditional techniques have been very effective to date, the performance demands of new devices mean that new solutions are needed. That’s where additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, can play a critical role. 

The rise of additive manufacturing  

Energy-efficient cooling devices like heat sinks and cold plates need highly detailed internal structures and channels to effectively direct heat away from extremely small, sensitive components. Such precision is difficult to achieve with traditional methods like moulding or subtractive machining. 

Additive manufacturing allows these intricate features to be fabricated more easily, at lower cost and shorter lead times. It also supports the use of advanced materials, which help deliver new designs and solutions tailored to application-specific needs. 

For example, ceramics like alumina, aluminium nitride, and silicon nitride can endure much higher temperatures than standard materials like plastic.  

These ceramics offer excellent strength, durability, and both electrical and thermal insulation.  

Additive manufacturing also enables the use of these materials in various forms – such as liquid binder or powder – allowing for the creation of composites with tailored properties at each layer of the component, as a form of multi-ceramic material. This layer-by-layer precision ensures heat is dissipated efficiently while maintaining structure and mechanical integrity. 

Staying cool: How novel 3D printing technologies are taking the heat off next-gen electronic devices

“Additive manufacturing enables us to build components layer by layer with extreme precision. By embedding high-performance ceramic materials into compound semiconductor packaging, we enhance thermal efficiency and overall performance both of which are critical in high power applications such as electric vehicle systems and 5G communication technologies” said Rezvan Gharehbaghi, senior mechanical engineer, additive manufacturing. 

Faster, simpler and more precise 

Compared to traditional methods, additive manufacturing offers a faster, more flexible workflow. Designs are created using CAD software, printed in layers with high-resolution ceramic 3D printers, and then go through thermal post-processing to achieve the final component. 

CSA Catapult’s team of experts use CAD and simulation tools to optimise geometries and run thermal performance tests, to ensure components will function as intended in compound semiconductor packages and wider electronic systems.

“We provide industry with energy-efficient thermal management solutions which feature complex geometries and that are only achievable with high-resolution ceramic 3D printing technologies,” Gharehbaghi continued.

CSA Catapult has already been using its advanced 3D printing processes in a number of projects, including POWERDRIVE, to improve performance, reliability and cost of power modules and packages for automotive applications.  

Another project – Lignin thermal devices for automotive power electronics – saw the world’s first use of a low-cost, renewable by-product of the paper manufacturing industry to produce products with superior thermal and electrical properties. 

A person in a lab coat carefully examines a tray of GaN components indoors, focusing intently on the tray's contents. - CSA Catapult

“By tailoring component geometries to different use cases, we optimise system topologies to align with the most complex and interconnected thermal and signal pathways, including specialised applications such as waveguides, RF filters, and integrated antennas, where precise control of both heat dissipation and signal integrity is critical.

Our bespoke components sync with broader thermal management systems in the best possible way, to ensure the final device operates with optimal thermal performance and minimal signal interference,” Gharehbaghi concluded.

Find out how we can help you design better products.

Get in touch